Building a Sustainable Community in Social Low-rent High-rise Housing: the Case of the Chongqing Model in ChinaPeng, Xueni; Baek, Jin;

Abstract

In 2007, in the city of Chongqing, the city government announced a plan to meet the basic needs of its lower-to-middle class residents, namely those of providing a shelter and urban infrastructure. In one respect, the effort to attain such goals has achieved good quantitative results; however, a more critical examination reveals that little consideration has been given to analyzing the qualitative aspects of such a policy, namely the physical and emotional effects on tenants. The results of the research in this paper have implications on the need to focus on building a `sustainable` and `healthy` community, with the awareness that for people in low-rent areas, sociability and community spirit are more closely related to their neighborhood contentment. Although attention to scale and type of area-planning are both important, the immediate surroundings and services are often neglected, but as we shall show they are key considerations for residents in this new type of housing. While attempting to comprehend the role of community in the quality of a neighborhood, in this research, we attempt to document the physical appearance of the problem and explore its underlying causes in order to shed more light on residents` individual evaluations of quality in their local living conditions and include the affective dimensions of such perceptions.

Chavis, D and Wandersman, A. (1990), 'Sense of community in an urban environment: a catalyst for participation and community development', American Journal of Community Psychology 18(1), 55-81.

14.

Davis, M. (1992). 'Fortress Los Angeles: the militarization of urban space. In Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space', (ed) Sorkin M (Noonday Press, New York), 154-180.

(MOHURD), Ministry of Housing and urban-rural development of China, (2009), the vise-minister said low-rent (affordable) housing must be built up with increasing number in major cities of China to accommodate the poor group.

37.

Park, R. (1952). 'Human communities', Glencoe, Ill.: Hillcrest Press'

38.

Peter, B, et al., (1984). 'Sun, Wind, and Comfort A Study of Open Spaces and Sidewalks in Four Downtown Areas', (Berkeley: University of California Press), 61-62.

39.

People's Daily, 'Chongqing to launch 10 million square meters of public housing' (2013)

Romain, L. (2011). Chongqing: Model for a new economic and social policy? This section, prepared by the Asia Centre (www.centreasia.org), draws mainly on the press in Chinese, aiming to reflect the point of view of the People's Republic of China on international questions and issues related to Greater China. China perspectives, Current affairs.

43.

Setha, M. (2011). 'The edge and the center: gated communities and the discourse of urban fear', American Anthropologist 103(1), 45-58.